William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879)

by Karen Board Moran, 3/26/2005

Courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society

A dedicated journalist and a zealous reformer, Garrison launched The Liberator from Boston on New Years Day, 1831 with “I am in earnest—I will not equivocate—I will not excuse—I will not retreat a single inch—and I will be heard.”

Pledged to the immediate emancipa- tion of the nation’s slaves, Garrison founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society in 1832 and the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833 to carry out this difficult task.

Garrison inspired Worcester County reformers Abby Kelley Foster and Lucy Stone and supported the equal participation of women in the anti-slavery movement.

Garrison helped promote the first National Woman’s Rights Convention held in Worcester, MA in 1850.

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